Author's Note: I've had this one in my "in progress" folder for... well... years now. occasionally tinkered with, I've finally gotten around to polishing it up and sending it out into the world. My apologies for the whole "not actually posting anything is literally years" thing... life happens. i'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Constructive criticism appreciated :)

It seemed incongruous - the perfect weather on a day of mourning. Internally, people had an almost subconscious expectation that if life was at all fair, days like this would be overcast and blustery, a bite in the air that mirrored the hollow ache inside that always accompanied a funeral.

His thoughts maudlin and sombre, Rick Castle looked out across the sea of faces, gathered to pay their final respects to a man who had meant so much to so many of them.

The sudden glint in the distance snagged his attention, Beckett's words carrying clearly across the assembled crowd of mourners. He blinked, then it happened again - the brilliant flash of something reflective. His subconscious mind concluded before the rest of him had even realised that something was wrong… very wrong.

Legs tensing, his arms outstretched, he dove for her, the faintest tickle in the back of his awareness that if he was wrong, he was going to look like a right fool. Castle flew through the air, his broad chest connecting with her slim frame. The air wheezing out of her, Kate staggered back a short step before falling down, his weight pinning her to the soft grass below. A burning sensation ripped through her chest, her lungs not working as she fought to draw breath. Blinking up at her partner, she watched with a detachment she was sure she shouldn't be feeling as his lips moved.

"Stay with me, Kate. Don't leave me, please. Stay with me, okay? Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate…" His words grew fainter, yet for all that she could barely make out his last ones, they seemed to ring in her ears.

Warmth bloomed between them, a soft, spreading trickle at odds with the last time she'd been this close to him. Only a few days ago, yet it seemed almost a lifetime - the vivid, almost super-realistic playback of his arms around her, holding her tight as his lips sought her in the final stages of the best stupid idea she thinks he's ever had. In a too quiet, dingy alley, with adrenaline surging through her body, her blood fizzing and the sudden stutter of her heart, Kate Beckett's world had been shaken almost as much as her knees had.

A rescue, an argument that left her broken and the death of her friend and mentor lay between that moment and this...

She knew with an icy certainty that she'd been shot - her hands rose unbidden to cling to his shoulders, her eyes seeking his out against the crystal blue sky above. His words jolted her - something she'd known, yet feared in equal measure, along with a sense of peace she had feared would elude her evermore. She struggled, her lips parting as she tried to speak, before the darkness nipping at the edges of her vision swamped her.

She slipped under, the creeping blackness stealing more of her view with every blink. The final thing she saw was the pristine white of her dress gloves pulling away from his jacket, stained bright red as his eyes fell closed, locked on hers until the last, both of them slipping into the blackness together.

"A sniper? At a funeral!?" The doors slammed open, and an enraged Dr Davidson stormed into the waiting room, his face nearly incandescent with rage. "Its his fucking fault - I know it!" His fingers clenched, Josh took a breath, trying to rein in his temper. His words hung in the air, hot and jumping with tension.

"Where is he?" The surgeon ground out, the vein in his forehead pulsing as his eyes darted around the waiting room. Jim stood slowly, the air thickening around him as he took in the man in front of him. He'd thought he was past judging his daughters' choice of boyfriend… Apparently not. The wry thought flickered across his mind for a split second that he'd mistakenly thought she was past being interested in narcissistic idiots back in her freshman year.

Flicking his eyes to the suddenly stiffening form of Martha Rogers, Jim saw her mouth harden, a microscopic nod all the permission he needed. His voice flat and cold, he answered.

"Still in surgery." There was a ringing silence for several seconds as the words penetrated Josh's brain, still seething with righteous indignation.

"Huh?" Was the best he could manage in reply. Drawing himself up to his full height, the elder Beckett stepped closer, one finger extending as he thrust it into the doctor's chest.

"I thought you of all people would understand what surgery was…" He poked Josh again, a flash of satisfaction flickering through him when he saw the wince of pain on the handsome doctor's face. "He took the bullet meant for her…" He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, before continuing. "Esposito and Ryan tell me that if it wasn't for Richard, she probably wouldn't have made it this far, so you can take your attitude, your ass and your goddamned Hollywood hair out of my face before something happens to yours!" The air around him practically vibrating with anger, Jim's voice was a study in the icy control a hairs' breadth from violence.

Josh gulped, taken aback at the sudden verbal onslaught. He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short. Jim crossed his arms and lowered his voice a fraction.

"I'm not sure what exactly constitutes professional misconduct around here doctor, but unless the next words out of your mouth are an apology to the mother and daughter of the man who just saved Katie's life, who still don't know if he is going to live -" He jerked his head towards Martha and Alexis, the former's expression fit to cut glass. "I'd suggest your chances of continued employment are slim to none."

His face blanching, the thoroughly chewed-out doctor turned to face Martha, who met his eyes with a flinty look. Standing slowly, she lifted her chin, somehow seeming to tower over him despite his six-foot and frame.

"Mrs Castle-" He began, his voice betraying his nerves. She cut him off, the word dropped in front of his sentence like an iron girder.

"Rogers."

"Pardon?" He asked, frowning as he struggled to regain his train of thought.

"My son is Castle - I am not." Josh squirmed, the diva appeared to be channeling a disapproving school teacher, her bearing seemingly plugged directly into that long-buried part of his psyche which wanted to hide at the back of the class, dreading the look that could shrivel even the bravest of souls - all she needed was a tweed dress and half-moon spectacles to complete the look. Clearing his throat, the doctor tried again.

"Mrs Rogers... I apologise for my behaviour. It was uncalled for, and out of line. It won't happen again." The words left a nasty taste in his mouth, far from what he had been all set to unleash when he first arrived in the waiting room only a few minutes ago.

Her eyes hard, Martha let him stew for a moment before answering.

"See that it doesn't." Having left the conversation dead in the water from her final salvo, she was disinclined to ease the situation. The clock ticked loudly in the ringing silence, nobody spoke a word, all their attention on the doctor as he darted his gaze around the assembled faces, watching, waiting... The judgement clear to see.

Alexis, still stung by the accusations flung as Josh stormed into the room, stood and crossed her arms, glaring.

"Was there anything else, or have you finished insulting my father for the moment?" More than a little bit stunned to be being confronted by a girl half his age, Josh took an involuntary step back.

"I'm just going to…" He trailed off and glanced around the faces of the assembled friends and family. Seeing absolutely nothing there to offer even an ounce of sympathy, he gave up. Turning on his heel, he left with his tail between his legs, wondering exactly how the entire incident had turned on him so badly.

Martha let out a shuddering breath, the indignation that had held her upright leaving as she exhaled. Immediately solicitous, Jim placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her back to the chairs. Impressed with her composure in the face of such provocation, he met her eyes with an appreciative nod, wishing they'd met under almost any circumstances other than this.

"I don't know what Katie sees in him…" He muttered, his words sparking a derisive snort from the actress.

Silence fell, the two parents so wrapped up in their shared concern that neither of them noticed the look that flashed between Ryan and Esposito, the quick nod and the perfect synchronisation as they left the room, heading in the same direction as the unwitting doctor.

His mind churning, doctor Davidson was oblivious to the two detectives, casually following him down the hall - until it was too late.

A not so friendly hand clapped onto his shoulder and he startled. Jerking his eyes up the offending limb, he saw the well-muscled arm of Esposito, fingers digging in just enough to suggest that he would be better off doing as he was told for the moment.

"We need to talk." Javier leaned close, his voice menacing. On the other side, the faintly smiling face of Ryan was no comfort at all - in fact it was the opposite. The short Irish cop had a definite air about him that he was smiling for a damn good reason, and it didn't bode well for somebody else. The rapidly-sinking feeling in his stomach was a pretty good indication that, for Josh, the somebody else was most likely him.

"Er… sure." He swallowed heavily. The grip on his shoulder steered him into an empty room, the door closing behind him with an ominous click. "What did you want to-"

"I think he's confused…" Ryan quipped to his partner.

"Yeah…" Esposito replied, his face hard and neutral. "He obviously thought that he was gonna be talking, not us." He shrugged, letting his hand fall from the doctor's shoulder. Crossing his arms over his chest, the detective lifted his lip with a derisive curl, running his attention over Josh. He might have been nearly a foot taller than the former soldier, but the sheer threat implicit in Javier's physique was more than sufficient to keep the doctor's lips shut until told otherwise.

"It's time we filled you in on a few things, Motorcycle-Boy…" Espo said, the nickname rolling off his tongue with an acid bite. "Number one - we don't like you…" He looked at Ryan, who nodded once.

"Two - Beckett doesn't like you." Josh's eyebrows shot up, his mouth opening to retort. He was cut off before he could get a word out. "You're just the rebound guy… didn't you know?" His face flushing, the doctor tensed up, prepared to defend his relationship.

"We've been together for more than six months now!" Ryan didn't even try to muffle the snort.

"You were a band-aid when she got her heart broken." He replied, talking slowly as if explaining something to a child. "The only reason she gave you the time of day was because she was hurting. She screwed up, and it blew up in her face - you're just a cookie-cutter boyfriend so she doesn't have to face up to the truth…"

"We put up with it while she was healing but after that little show you just put on, I don't think she is gonna want you around for much longer." Esposito picked up the rest of the sentence flawlessly, the two of them tag-teaming in perfect sync.

"Kate is like our sister…" He looked straight through the now-thoroughly scared doctor. "If she's not happy, we can make sure that unhappiness finds its way… elsewhere." Ryan took over once more, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"And Castle…? You do realise that you've just opened Pandora's box, don't you?" He chuckled. "You think you're so hot with your doctors without borders heart surgeon thing you have going on? Castle has a guy everywhere… CIA."

"NSA."

"FBI."

"DHS."

"DEA."

"IRS."

"ATF." The letters bounced between the two detectives, Josh's eyes darting between them like a spectator at a tennis match.

"He knows people in three-letter acronyms you've never fucking heard of, man, and that's just the ones on the right side of the line… You remember when we had the Jimmy Moran case?" Esposito glanced at Ryan, who grinned back wolfishly.

"Oh yeah… Gotta tell you, I was impressed that Writer-Boy has the Spolano's on speed dial…" Josh's face blanched, then went very slightly green. "And Mayor Weldon, Judge Markaway, Connelly, Patterson, Lehane…"

Esposito let out a short, nasty laugh. Shaking his head, he said

"What kind of moron would you have to be to insult an international celebrity, who probably paid more in tax this year than you'd make in a lifetime, when he just got shot trying to save one of New York's finest from a sniper at a funeral?" Meeting his gaze, Ryan replied steadily.

"I dunno… But I'm betting a person that stupid would probably turn up on a missing persons list somewhere - no questions asked." Reaching out, Esposito bumped his fist against Ryan's and grinned at the terrified Josh.

"I'm glad we had this little talk…" He opened the door and allowed the Irish detective to go through first, tossing his parting shot back over his shoulder as he left the room. "We won't be having this conversation again, will we?" Not bothering to wait for a response, he waited a split second until Josh started to move towards the exit, before closing the door in his face out of spite.

A quick feed-the-birds shared between the two partners, and they left the hall as if nothing had happened, just two guys heading back to the waiting room.

Pain.

The fuzzy, almost soft kind of pain you only get when you're on really good drugs that lets you know it's going to fucking hurt when they wear off…

Kate breathed, fighting back the gag reflex at the hard press of plastic down her throat. A hand settled gently on her shoulder, a distant voice speaking, sounding to her as if her head was underwater.

"Easy, Miss Beckett - just relax and we'll have the tube removed in a sec." Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings as her senses came back online: the sharp scent of antiseptic, and the already-irritating beep of machinery.

Hospital.

Well... She thought dizzily. At least I'm still alive. Her eyelids still closed, she was startled as she felt hands on the breathing tube, and then the disturbing sensation of it being eased out of her throat. Swallowing reflexively, she struggled against the swirling blackness that clutched at her.

"Cas…" She ground out, her voice raw. Gulping, she tried again, the image of her partner's blood staining her white dress gloves seared onto the back of her eyelids. "Castle?"

Over the sounds of people moving around her bed, she felt the air shift, and the reassuring scent of her father's cologne eased her increasing heart rate.

"He's still in surgery, Katie…" A comforting hand wrapped her own and squeezed gently. "He's a fighter though." Worry lanced through her, only barely mollified by the fact that despite her last memories of the author, he still wasn't out of the woods yet. Her body took that moment to have the last word, her awareness fading as the swirling blackness dragged her under once more.

"Family of Richard Castle?" The doctor placed his hands under a sanitiser, spreading the alcohol solution over his fingers and rubbing briskly. He met the worried eyes of the assembled people, glancing around them. Martha stood, one hand still gripped in Alexis' smaller one.

"Is he…?" She trailed off, unable to finish the question. Her back ramrod straight, she fought to keep her bottom lip from trembling. A fatigued smile creasing his face, the doctor stepped forward and spoke.

"He pulled through okay." He sighed, weariness evident in his posture. "The bullet hit his shoulder blade and shattered. It punctured his right lung, and one of the fragments nicked the aorta… even a couple of millimetres and he wouldn't have survived. He's a lucky man." He blinked in surprise as the diva threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly.

"Thank you." She whispered fervently. One hand patted her back a little awkwardly as the surgeon spoke again, his voice sober.

"He has a long road ahead of him, I'm afraid." He stepped back a fraction, watching as his words sunk in. "The bullet separated into a number of small fragments, which we had to dig out, and one large one which went through and through. I'm told he tried to save somebody else?" Jim stood up, his joints creaking after so long without moving. His eyes shining with gratitude for the author's actions, he nodded in Martha's direction.

"My daughter… his partner." He admitted, relieved beyond words that the pair had managed to survive. The surgeon gave a small smile and kept talking.

"He probably saved her life then. The bullet lost a significant amount of energy as it broke up and passed through. The down-side is that it made his own wound worse. He lost a lot of blood before we could stabilise him." He scrubbed one hand down his face, then shook off the lethargy that always followed the adrenaline of a surgery as intense and prolonged as the one he'd just finished. "In addition to the other damage, he sustained broken ribs in the back and chest, and his right pectoral muscle was severely damaged as the bullet exited. Once he's had a chance to recover from the initial surgery, I'd like to have him talk to a plastic surgeon about a reconstruction - his physical therapy will need to be tailored to account for the muscle as well as the bone."

Behind them, Alexis gasped, the reality of just how much work her father would need starting to sink in. Jim turned, extending his arms to the distraught teen. Wrapping her in a comforting embrace, he felt the corners of his mouth twitch into the faintest of smiles as Martha joined them.

"He'll get the best care possible." Martha whispered fiercely, her resolve rock solid as she cast her mind ahead, already starting to organise. She glanced at Jim, still cocooning them in the group hug. "Katherine too, of course." She added, simply unable to consider anything less.

"Martha, I-" Jim began to protest at the offer, knowing that between Kate's insurance and the money he had put aside, she wouldn't be left stranded by any stretch of the imagination.

"No, I won't hear of it." She cut him off. "Given what my son did earlier, do you honestly think that he'd quibble about something as trivial as money under the circumstances?" She shook her head emphatically, her voice softening. "We all want them both to get better as soon as possible." Jim squeezed them both, his heart clenching as the sight of Alexis' reddened eyes, and the drying tear-tracks down her cheeks. He replied, both supporting and drawing comfort from them at the same time.

"That we do."

Kate shifted in the uncomfortable hospital seat, trying to keep the tugging at her stitches to a minimum. Her left hand tensed, fingers laced through those of her partner.

"Wazzat?" He mumbled, his eyes blinking slowly as he fought his way towards consciousness. The pain eased slightly, and she relaxed. Her free hand clenched into a fist as she fought back the urge to brush the unruly locks of hair that spilled across his forehead.

"Shhhhh..." She whispered, her throat dry from disuse. "Its OK. You're in the hospital." Her words were pitched low, and patient. The last few times he'd roused, Castle hadn't known where he was and in the ensuing panic, he'd nearly torn his stitches.

"Beckett?" He rasped, his eyelids trying valiantly to open. Bloodshot and clearly showing the fatigue from the ordeal, the sight of his crystal blues eased the searing ache in Kate's chest. Until she had seen him awake and conscious, she had not been able to let go of the nagging feeling that it was all going to go sideways... Again.

"I'm here..." She replied, her thumb running softly across the back of his knuckles. "Thanks to you..." She met his eyes with a smile tinged with nerves. The doctors had been worried about her own mental state after the surgery, unsure exactly how much she would be able to recall about the events leading up to the shooting. If they were concerned about her, then she was terrified for her partner. The fact that he'd woken up panicking was a sure sign that he had at least on some level been aware of the situation, but now as his body and mind woke up, it remained to be seen just how much he could recall.

Kate didn't want to push him, and it just wasn't in their dynamic to confront issues head on - or at all, but his words to her kept running through her head on a permanent loop. She knew, without a doubt, that they'd had their fair share of close calls, but this was something else entirely. Richard Castle had taken a bullet for her, and that had been the single deciding factor in her continued existence. Every time she closed her eyes, she flashed back to the cemetery… the rippling chill that settled deep inside her lashing with the morbidly comforting warmth of his blood as it spread between them. His blood… her blood. They were linked by more than affection, their shared experiences. In one shocking instant, their bond became irrevocable. Beckett fought back a dry chuckle, inwardly wincing at what her partner would say if she gave voice to her errant thought that under the circumstances, his words to her could be considered both a dying declaration and blood oath all in one.

Rick looked up at her, pain still washing through him, but with the faintest of grins teasing the corner of his mouth.

"Worth it…" He said, the relief at seeing her still alive doing more for him than the cocktail of medication swirling through his veins. He swallowed roughly, continuing. "Jus' don't make a habit of it, yeah?" Beckett bit back a sobbing laugh, the black humour springing tears in her eyes even as her lips twitched in response.

Their gaze locked on each other, neither of them noticed a tall, dark-haired man in scrubs look through the doorway at them, his eyes burning with distaste at the sight of the injured author. Despite the celebrity status of the man in the bed, Josh Davidson was not a fan… Definitely not.

The universe, it seemed, had a sometimes cruel sense of humour, and it was at that very moment that Jim Beckett rounded the corner, his attention focused on the phone in his hand as he went to slip it back into his pocket. Glancing up, he saw the doctor's figure standing at the doorway.

No… The elder Beckett's mind corrected. Lurking is more like it. His years of experience at law coming forward, he started at the beginning: evidence. Unlocking his phone, he took a quick picture of Josh and forwarded it to a pair of detectives whom he was sure would want to know. He didn't consider himself a vindictive man, but when somebody crossed the line as badly as the doctor had, well, he figured they had it coming.

"Doctor Davidson…" He called out as he was halfway down the hall, timing his greeting so that the sound of his approach gave only the barest of warnings. Josh jerked his head around at the sound of his name, realising at the last moment that the time for being able to make a graceful exit was well gone. "Given our last 'discussion', your presence outside Mr Castle's room could do with an explanation…" He spoke clearly, knowing that his daughter would be able to hear every word he said. Crossing his arms, he raised a single eyebrow at the surgeon… waiting.

Josh swallowed hard, his mind racing as he struggled to come up with something even approaching a good excuse.

" I..." He began, making it up as he went. "I thought I'd stop in and see how he is doing - give his family an update?" The look on Jim's face told the doctor that he wasn't buying it.

"I think that perhaps you should get back to your rounds, doctor..." Beckett snarked. "You patients probably need you... and you're testing mine." Flushing under the withering glare, Josh drew himself up and stalked down the hall, fuming. Jim waited, watching until the surgeon disappeared around the corner before making his way to the door of Castle's room. Raising his hand, he knocked quietly and waited.

Inside, Kate turned her head and glanced at her father, questions swirling in her eyes. She knew her father, and he had one of the most even tempers she had ever known. For him to have spoken to her boyfriend the way that he had spoke volumes - and Beckett's professional instincts were screaming at her. Jim shook his head briefly, not wanting to discuss it within earshot of the injured writer - his recovery was going to take long enough already without the added stress of knowing what Josh had said putting any extra strain on him. He eased himself into the chair next to his daughter and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing briefly. It could wait, he decided. The chances of Kate leaving Castle's bedside in the immediate future were very slim indeed, and what he was going to say wasn't going to be pretty.

"How's he doing?" Jim asked softly, looking carefully at the figure hooked up to tubes and wires. Castle's eyes had slipped closed while the discussion had gone on outside his room, unable to fight the fatigue that pulled him back under. Kate let out a shaky breath, her thumb absently rubbing back and forth across Rick's knuckles.

"He was awake a minute ago... cracking jokes." Her lips curled into something between an amused grin and a grimace. "He nearly didn't make it, dad." Her eyelids closing of their own accord, Beckett felt the sharp sting of tears. One single drop spilled free, trailing down her cheek to fall, unnoticed on her hospital gown. "Half an inch in any direction, and I'd be burying him too." Choking back a sob, she let go of Rick's hand and reached for her father. Whispering soft words of comfort into her hair, Jim enfolded her in a hug.

"It's ok, Katie-bug..." He murmured. "He's here, and he will pull through. He has the best doctors looking after him, and the love and support of his friends and family." Eventually, Kate's breathing evened out and she pulled back. Sniffing, she swiped the tears off her cheeks and looked at her father through reddened eyes.

"Stay with me a while?" Beckett asked, her voice still thick with emotion. Wordlessly, Jim placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her close, his daughter resting her head against him just like she used to as a child.

"Nowhere I'd rather be…" He murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair. They waited, letting Castle rest and recover in peace as they both looked on, thankful that he had pulled through.

"Beckett?" Esposito poked his head around the door. "You got a minute?" The days had passed in a confusing blend of time - every minute seemed to drag its heels, but the day had gone by in a blur. Castle was recovering well, and Kate had been discharged earlier that morning… and to the surprise of absolutely nobody had signed her paperwork and walked straight down the hall to Castle's room, sat down and kept him company. She looked up at the detective and nodded.

"Come in." Kate stood up and stretched, her eyes darting to Castle. An easy smile forming on his lips, he reached to the side of the bed and picked up the controls for the bed. Pressing the appropriate button, he raised the head of the bed half way, letting him see something of the room other than the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" Espo entered the room and grinned at the writer. "You're looking a bit more with it today."

"The doctors have given me the all clear - no infections, and they are cutting back on the painkillers slowly." He grimaced a little at the last - whilst he may have appreciated the medication at the outset, the lowering of the dosage had brought home to him just how much damage had actually been done. It hurt to breathe, to move, and at times he swore it even hurt to think. Kate winced in sympathy, her own treatment was similar albeit on a slightly lesser scale. He'd taken the brunt of the damage for her, and the consequences now looked like including months of physical therapy.

Esposito dragged a chair closer to the bed and sat down, his expression grim.

"What's the matter, Espo?" Beckett asked, nerves twitching as her mind whirled. He held out a tablet to her, watching as she tilted it so that Castle could see as well.

"Somebody thought they saw a groundsman at the funeral, but when we checked the staff roster, there was nobody on that day. Everybody just assumed that he was supposed to be there. We've had a sketch artist work up a picture, but we were hoping that either you or Castle might have a better chance of recognising him - you two were up the front, facing the crowd, and you'd have had a better view than pretty much anybody else."

Beckett unlocked the screen and stared hard at the pencilled sketch. She shook her head, looking at her partner in the hospital bed. He frowned, searching his memories of the day as best he could, but eventually he came up blank as well.

"Sorry, I got nothin'..." He said regretfully. Closing his eyes, Castle let out a frustrated sigh. "Any other leads?" He asked, already suspecting the answer wouldn't be positive. Esposito shook his head regretfully.

"Nothing concrete. We have the rifle he used... DNA and ballistics came back negative for anything on the system." He paused, considering. "He's good... doing something like this and exfiltrating without being spotted takes serious balls - and training." He scrubbed his hand down his face and looked at them both, the wheels turning as the impact of his words sank in.

"Ex-military?" Beckett posed the question aloud. Castle followed hard on her heels with his own opinion.

"Mercenary?" He paused for a split second, and kept going. "If prints, DNA and his face aren't popping, I'd be leaning towards an international contract hitter. Run it past Interpol maybe?" Esposito brightened at the idea, the first hint of a line of enquiry dragging his lips into the first hint of a smile in days.

"I'll give the tree a shake and see what nuts fall out. Might be worth running it through DHS as well - although I'm not sure they'd admit it if they had him on the books." He stretched out his hand for the tablet. Taking it from Beckett, he tapped on it briefly, then handed it back to her. "This is more in the nature of a Hail Mary than anything else, but Ryan and I figured if we got you two to review security cam footage from the waiting room after you were admitted, one of the faces might jog your memories... We are thinking that whoever ordered the hit knows by now that they failed, and it'd make sense for them to try to slip somebody in to get some intel. Are you guys up for it, or do you wanna hold off til you're rested?"

Castle scrunched his eyes then blinked rapidly, focusing his thoughts. Edging the bed up another few inches, he flicked his eyes to Kate, sitting next to him. Concern for him was written clearly on her face, the hunched set of her shoulders spoke more of her worry that he'd be pushing himself too far than of her own pain.

"I'm good." He answered, the look of concentration firming on his features. Kate paused, assessing, trying to decide if he was just putting on a brave face. Eventually, she nodded.

"Let's do this." Esposito handed the tablet back to Castle, his expression solemn. Aside from the task of searching for faces they recognised in the footage, he knew that things were about to take a sharp turn towards all hell breaking loose. Mentally, he shrugged.

Douche-bag has it coming... He thought with a flash of pre-emptive schadenfreude. The detective had spoken to Jim Beckett shortly after the confrontation outside Rick's room, and it had been the final straw. Motorcycle-Boy had been given ample opportunity to see the error of his ways and had failed to do so. The consequences were his and his alone to bear... and Esposito could only hope that he had a comfortable seat and some popcorn to enhance his viewing pleasure when the surgeon finally got his comeuppance.

The ghost of an evil smirk teasing his lips, Esposito fought to keep himself from humming in an unprofessional manner - he currently had visions of Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, wearing the doctor's scrubs, skipping down the hall singing 'if I only had a brain'... Biting back the chuckle that threatened to spill forth, he shook his head, blaming the mental image on the protracted proximity to a certain author. Glancing at Beckett, and then to Castle, he watched them as they scanned the video footage, their eyes flickering over the movements on the screen.

Esposito flicked his attention to the timestamp in the bottom corner of the screen, noting that the shit was about to hit the fan. Neither of the pair had seen anything that snagged their attention in the faces of the people moving through the waiting room - until Josh stormed in. A brief frown wrinkled Kate's forehead as the video played the scene out - Josh's rapid approach across the room, and then the confrontation. Her jaw falling open, she stabbed the surface of the tablet, pausing the playback immediately.

"Espo?" She queried, her voice somewhere between demanding and incredulous. "What the hell is this?"

Javier looked at her, his face grim. Reaching over, he scrolled the video feed back thirty seconds and then turned the volume up so that they could hear the conversation for themselves. In the quiet stillness of the hospital room, they witnessed not only the self-righteous arrogance of Beckett's soon-to-be ex-boyfriend and his humiliation at the hands of their respective families. As the image of Doctor Davidson left the waiting room, his tail between his legs, Kate paused the playback once more. Her expression one of the scariest he'd ever seen, Esposito gulped... hard. The only thing that disturbed him more than the sight of his friend and co-worker looking like she was ready to tear Josh limb from limb was the look that had overtaken Rick. In all his years in service, the detective had never seen anything quite like the look of ice-cold rage that seemed to fill the air itself with a searing chill.

Silence rang in the air, sharp and brittle, before Kate looked at her colleague, he voice barely hiding the rage that threatened to break her composure.

"There's more, isn't there?" She asked, the certainty rippling through her. Castle ground his teeth, her words confirming the nasty suspicions in his own mind.

Esposito nodded, his expression grim.

"Yeah. Nothing on the security cameras, but..." He sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Kev and I took him aside and had a little... chat, but-" He paused and fished out his phone. Unlocking the screen, he scrolled through until he reached the photo Jim had sent him of the doctor lurking outside Castle's room. Showing it to the pair, he shook his head. "Your father sent me that. You were in here with Castle, who was still out of it, and your dad thought Kev and I should know, given, well... you know."

Kate nodded.

"I remember hearing dad rip into Josh in the hall, but..." She trailed off, everyone present understanding that at the time, the issue with Josh had been far from the top of their priority lists. She ground teeth, her jaw set. "Any idea where he is right now?" Beckett asked, trying to keep her tone civil. She knew it wasn't Esposito's fault, but the anger roiling through her threatened to spill over, despite her best efforts. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Glancing over at Rick, she caught his eye, and saw the determination and rage there. "You know what? Let's do this properly..." She spoke barely above a whisper, her teeth clenched tightly. "Can you get my dad in here, Javi?"

Esposito's face betrayed his confusion briefly, as he considered the implications - upset child, father-with-shotgun-and-shovel, before recalling Beckett senior's occupation. Kate wouldn't do anything to jeopardise her career (...probably. The way she'd reacted was as close to losing control as the detective had seen in all his years working with her), but this? It looked very much like bare-knuckled lawfare was about to be unleashed on the unsuspecting surgeon.

Javier grinned evilly, knowing that the multitude of ways Josh was about to be screwed over, legally and above board, was nothing short of karma made flesh... And he was more than happy to help it along. Standing up, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles theatrically.

"As you wish..." He withdrew from the room, a glint in his eye, to fetch Beckett senior.

The soft click as Esposito closed the door behind him filled the room with silence, before Kate broke it. Reaching out to her partner, she laced her fingers with his and squeezed.

"Rick?" She queried, her voice threatening to betray just how pissed off she was - although she very much doubted that the man in the bed was under any illusions of her state of mind. "What Josh did was unforgivable. What he said about you..." She trailed off, watching the sting of the doctor's words on Castle's face. "He was wrong, Castle, wrong in so many ways... you know that, right?" She tightened her grip, looking him full in the eyes. "I. Don't. Blame. You."

Rick let out his breath, some measure of acceptance showing on his features. Nodding, he replied.

"Thank you. I couldn't live with myself if I had... well... you know..." He petered out, the pain, medication and stress robbing him of his usual eloquence, but Beckett understood what he was having trouble articulating. Leaning forward, she rested her forehead against his briefly, then sat back, her expression hardening.

"I know I didn't exactly talk to you about this-" She waggled her free hand in a confused manner. "Thing with Josh, and I don't know how far you want to take it... but I want my dad to help make sure whatever I do is legally airtight... before I rip him to pieces."

Castle smiled up at her.

"That's more than fine by me. I'd considered calling my lawyer, once I got my phone back anyway, but I'd be more than happy to have your father handle it. He crossed the line, Kate... I'm a big boy, I can handle some crap, but when he starts in on my family, people I..." He swallowed hard, and continued, knowing that despite the topic having not been raised since the lights went out in the cemetery, he was done trying to hide his feelings. "People I love." He met her gaze without flinching, and judging by the lack of panic he read there, so was she.

Nodding her head, she spoke, her voice firm.

"Let's do this." Castle was unsure if she was referring to the upcoming reaming of the unfortunate Dr Davidson, or the whole issue of their own relationship, but decided that at this point, she probably meant both. He could live with that, he decided, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Doctor Davidson to surgical admin... Doctor Davidson to admin, please." The polite female voice came over the PA system, delivered in that special monotone that is seemingly reserved for those in charge of a microphone.

Josh blinked and glanced around, a little confused as to why he'd be summoned in the middle of his rounds. Shrugging, he closed the chart he was looking at and hung it from the foot of his patient's bed.

"I am terribly sorry, Mrs Bernstein. I'll be back along as soon as I've sorted this out." He turned and left the room, completely unaware that karma was lacing on a special pair of steel-capped boots, just to kick him with...

Author's Note: From Wikipedia - Schadenfreude (/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/; German: [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʀɔɪ̯də] ( )) is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. [1] This word is taken from German and literally means 'harm-joy.' It is the feeling of joy or pleasure when one sees another fail or suffer misfortune. It is also borrowed by some other languages.